


Intolerable

by Musyc



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Arguing, F/M, Family Drama, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Married Couple, Married Life, Post-War, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 01:15:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17498864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musyc/pseuds/Musyc
Summary: Anything we said against her would only encourage him to cling to her.- Lucius and Narcissa find their post-war life a little difficult, and meeting Draco's friend doesn't help.





	Intolerable

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2017 fest on TheIceRoyals on Dreamwidth.

**176 ½ Bond Street, London**

"This is intolerable." Lucius glared at his glass. The bubbly liquid in the wide bowl was a pale blue shade. Each bubble popped with a small chime when it rose out of the top of the glass.

Narcissa lifted the cocktail from Lucius' hand and took a small sip. She handed the glass back with a shrug. "It's a little odd, but perfectly drinkable, my dear. I don't see what makes it intolerable."

"Not that," Lucius said, "though I have several objections. I am speaking of this entire situation." He made a listless gesture at the room and the guests who were mingling and chatting around a multitude of small tables. A string quartet played quietly beside a section bordered by flower stands and floating candles. "This is not who we are, Narcissa. This is not who we have always been."

Narcissa gave him a slow, almost insolent blink. "And who are we again?"

Lucius set his glass onto the nearest table with a muffled clack. He leaned heavily on his walking stick, fingers tense around the snake's head. "We are people who throw luxurious balls in our ancestral manor house, with proper French Champagne and chamber orchestras. We have eleven course dinners served _a la russe_ , with cigars and port after. We do not have a--" He gave a delicate shudder. "A buffet."

Narcissa plucked a white rose from the arrangement in the center of the table and paid close attention to the petals. "Mmm, perhaps. And perhaps being who we've always been has led us to such _fascinating_ places," she said. Her lips never released from her smile but her voice nearly growled. "It has led us to selling ourselves to a madman and slipping away from Azkaban on the most delicate of technicalities." 

Lucius flinched. His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the walking stick. "Narcis-"

Narcissa continued, still smiling into the petals of the rose. "Yes, my dear, by all means, let us return to _that_ way of life. Wouldn't that be delightful? We could lose the rest of our fortune and this terrace in addition to the Manor and a quarter of our vaults, since you clearly feel that we have not done enough to ruin our name in society. If we try, we might completely destroy Draco's prospects as well as we have done our own."

Lucius hissed under his breath. His shoulders hunched; the skin at his temple throbbed. "Cissa, that is not fair."

"Fair? Perhaps not. But true." Narcissa broke the stem off the rose and turned to Lucius. With a quick twist of her fingers, she attached the rose to the collar of his heavy formal robes. "My darling husband," she said, looking deep into his eyes. "This evening is for Draco's benefit. He has struggled to find his place in society and he is on his way. While he has made choices that you and I would once have advised against, he has done well for himself."

Lucius sighed, staring down at Narcissa's hands as she smoothed his robes. "I still think it intolerable," he murmured. 

"Think it all you like," Narcissa said. "Do not act it." She leaned in to kiss his cheek. Her charmed lipstick left no trace on his skin. "Now, Draco told me this morning he had someone he was rather anxious for us to meet. Brace yourself and smile, no matter who it is."

Lucius arched a brow. "What if it's a Weasley?" he said with a hint of a smirk.

Narcissa shook her head. "Then we'll break out the _good_ brandy once the party's over." She tucked her arm through his and gently squeezed his forearm. "Come along. Let's find our son."

* * *

Narcissa ripped the thestral-bone combs from her elegant chignon and flung them onto her dressing table. They disappeared into the mass of perfume bottles and jewelry trays that cluttered the marble surface. "This.... _This_ is...." she snarled at her reflection.

Lucius lifted his head from beneath one of the innumerable thick and stiffly-embroidered pillows decorating the bed. "Intolerable?" he said brightly. 

Narcissa twisted around, eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. "Do not dare, Lucius. I am in no mood." She turned back to her reflection and leaned close to the mirror. She tugged gently at the small lines surrounding her eyes, then pushed at her forehead to smooth out the furrows. "I never expected anything like this. Like her. I would have been less surprised if he _had_ presented us with a Weasley!"

Lucius stood up and shrugged out of his robes. "Draco would never stoop so low. Even if we were sleeping in the gutter."

Narcissa watched the mirror as Lucius changed for bed. "You're taking this quite calmly," she said. She took up a unicorn-horn comb and stroked it through her hair. "I half-expected you to have every last one of Draco's guests thrown into the street. From the roof, if necessary." 

Lucius tightened the drawstring on his silk pyjama bottoms. "I would hardly cause a scene in public." 

Narcissa closed her eyes and repressed a snort of laughter. "Yes, dear," she said, her voice barely quavering. "You are a paragon of discretion and always have been."

Lucius moved up behind her and took the comb from her fingers. With slow, gentle strokes, he eased out the last of the evening's tangles. When he finished, he eased her hair over her shoulder and bent to kiss her nape above the wide collar of her emerald necklace. "I was surprised by Draco's ... companion," he murmured. "And yes, I was tempted to have them all flung from the battlements and possibly have Draco locked in the attic. But you did give me a very stern warning." He nipped at her earlobe. "Besides, several of our guests from tonight are highly placed in the Ministry. Word of a row would certainly have returned to that fool who is 'overseeing' our reparation efforts."

Narcissa sighed, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. "I can't begin to explain how much I wanted to take Draco by the ear and give him a talking-to. But it wouldn't have worked. Not then. He was too caught up in excitement. Anything we said against her would only encourage him to cling to her. We can work on this later. Once we have had a little more time to plan."

He carefully unfastened the clasps of the necklace, letting the dangling teardrops slide down to the neckline of Narcissa's dress and into the valley between her breasts. "Mmm, yes. Later. It's something we can put off until the morning," he said as his fingers followed the trail of the necklace beneath her satin gown. He cupped her breast, thumb rubbing over the full curve. With a hint of a smile, he met her eyes in the mirror. "Don't you think?"

Narcissa circled his wrist and drew his fingers out of her dress. She set the necklace on the table, stood and turned, and twined her arms around his neck. "Sometimes, my dear," she said, her voice gone husky and deep, "we are in full agreement."

* * *

Lucius blinked awake. He attempted to roll over but halted with a pained groan. He groped at his lower back where he felt the slight dry tugging of blood dried on his skin. There were four short lines of it, he discovered, in several places. Gingerly sitting up, he grinned down at his sleeping wife. "Can't resist using your nails, can you?" he whispered to her.

He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. Narcissa murmured wordlessly, shifting her head on the pillow to expose more of her throat. Lucius took the silent invitation. He explored her pale, soft skin, from the shallow dip behind her ear to the notch between her collarbones where her pulse beat.

Narcissa's eyes drifted open and she gave a languid, still-drowsy smile. "That's a rather pleasant way to awaken," she said. 

"I thought so," Lucius said with a soft laugh. "Glad we're in, ahem, full agreement." He tugged the sheet down, exposing the swells of her breasts. With a flirtatious hum, he bent and blew a stream of cool air across one nipple, the tightening skin blushing to the exact pink shade of her favorite cameo brooch. Lucius gave another hum, this one deeply satisfied, and lowered his head to draw her nipple between his lips. He sucked gently, tongue flicking at the tip, then lightly touched his teeth to her flesh.

Narcissa jumped, let out the tiniest high-pitched noise, and gripped the back of his head. She twined her fingers in his hair, pressing against his scalp. "Tease," she said.

He smiled against her skin and opened his mouth wide to take as much of her in as he could. Shifting his hips, he rubbed his naked groin against her thigh through the sheet. He spared a moment of regret that his erections weren't as quick or as firm as they had been in his youth, but mentally acknowledged that endurance and creativity made up for that. 

Narcissa certainly seemed to approve. Her hand drifted down her stomach to push between them. He lifted his head to watch as her fingers brushed the base of his shaft. Lucius grunted, grinding her thigh. "Tease," he repeated. "Cissa, keep going. Let's have--"

"Mum! Dad!" The door banged open and Draco rushed in. "You're never going to believe this!"

Narcissa shrieked, snatching the sheet up to her chin. Lucius yelped and rolled away. He leapt up, grabbed his dressing gown, and yanked it on. Knotting the sash, he rushed around the bed to stand between his son and his wife. "We _did_ teach you manners, boy!"

Draco held one hand over his eyes and turned to face the wall. "Sorry. My _god_ , you have no idea how sorry I am. But I couldn't wait! I had to share my news immediately!"

"Unless there are Hit Wizards coming up the stairs this very moment, nothing is that important." Lucius looked over his shoulder to see Narcissa struggling into her own dressing gown. She pulled it across her chest and tied the sash tight, covering herself from neck to ankle. Lucius sighed in relief, though he could still feel the heat of embarrassment in his face. "All right. Son, you can turn around."

Draco turned, his eyes bright and his mouth in a smile so wide Lucius was concerned his lips might actually split. "You were so gracious last night," Draco said, "So accepting. I knew I made the right decision. I knew you'd love her as much as I do. I couldn't wait. As soon as I took her home, I asked." He swung Narcissa into a spinning hug, laughing. "I've never been happier, Mum!"

Lucius was certain his expression mirrored Narcissa's bewildered look. He quickly scrubbed his face as if he could push his features into calm. He seemed to be successful, because Draco kept smiling. 

"Er," Narcissa said, as Draco released her with an expectant look. "You, er. Happier about what, precisely?"

Draco snorted. "Mum. I asked her to marry me. She said yes!"

Lucius' spine snapped straight and he pointed imperiously to the door. "Out."

* * *

"Lucius, do not shout at him," Narcissa hissed as they made their way down the stairs. "Remain calm. There is still time to discuss this, but if you set him on the defensive, we are guaranteed to see him married by the end of the week."

Lucius stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his hand clenched around the top of the thin mahogany banister. He looked up at Narcissa. "You expect me to sit there and smile, Narcissa? Hardly. This is--"

Narcissa grabbed the front of his shirt and loomed over him. "If you say this is intolerable, I swear on every last one of my ancestors that I will curse you to spend the rest of your days as a bog farmer in Scotland. If he is enthralled enough with this woman to burst into our bedroom and interrupt us _in flagrante delicto_ barely even _noticing_ our state, then he is not going to drop her on a stern look from you."

"I am still the head of this family," Lucius said with a growl.

"And if you throw a fit about Draco's young woman, how long do you think he will associate with this _family_?" She leaned closer, nose to nose, and lowered her voice to a hoarse growl. "When it comes to the heart, he is far too much like you, Lucius. He will walk out before he will roll over. Remember yourself at his age. You were willing to throw over your own father for me!"

"And I have never regretted it," Lucius said. He took a deep breath and blew it out sharply through his nose. "Just as I have never regretted taking your advice. It's when I've failed to heed you that I've drifted into ... dark places. But how can I--"

"If I could interrupt?"

Lucius turned, Narcissa's hand falling on his shoulder. Draco stood in the doorway of the breakfast room, arms folded, brows raised. He cleared his throat and tipped his head to the room behind him. "Think you'll want to hear this before you make any decisions."

Narcissa and Lucius exchanged a glance, then followed their son into the room. At each of their places at the table was a small leather portfolio. As they took their seats, Draco flicked his wand and started tea for everyone. "If you'll look at the first page," he said, floating sugar and milk to the cups, "you'll see her lineage. It's nowhere in comparison to Malfoy or Black, but it's respectable. And," he added with a sharp look at Lucius. "Very pure."

He passed the tea cups over and settled into his own chair. "Next page, friends and acquaintances, enemies and allies. You'll note just how many names her family has in common with ours. Third page--"

"Draco, what is this?" Narcissa asked. She had both hands wrapped around her tea cup, fingers drumming against the delicate gilded handle.

Draco gave a quick humorless smile. "It's a dossier, Mum. You think I would have started seeing a woman without checking her background first? You think I wouldn't have known your objections? Bloodline, favors owed and received, so on. I'm not an idiot."

"Oh, Draco," Narcissa said. She reached across the table and laid her hand on his wrist. "We never thought that, not for a moment."

"You thought I was making a bad choice," he said. "This is just to prove that you're wrong. I wasn't thinking only with my heart." He threw a glance at Lucius. "Or any parts lower."

"I never said any such thing," Lucius protested. After a long stare from both Narcissa and Draco, Lucius shrugged. "I may have thought it. But I never said it."

Draco shook his head. "Right then. Next on the agenda, her finances. If you'll--"

"Draco, this truly isn't needed," Narcissa said. "You've clearly done a good deal of planning and put more thought into this than we expected. You don't have to--"

"Hold up," Lucius said. He peered closer at the parchment, then lifted his brows and stared at Draco. "This can't possibly be true."

Narcissa took a deep breath. "Lucius."

"Look at it, Cissa."

Narcissa huffed, but shuffled through her parchments. Draco covered his mouth, but couldn't disguise his grin in his eyes. "She gave me that number herself, Dad. She said she knew you'd need something to sweeten the deal."

"All of it?" Lucius swallowed hard, staring at the long column of numbers and the very long total at the end. "Into _our_ vaults?"

"Well, mine," Draco said. "But given your approval and public delight in our match, she's said she'd be more than happy to contribute that to the Malfoy family. For our children, of course."

Narcissa's eyes were wide. She took a sip of her tea, forced to use both hands to keep the cup from shaking and spilling tea down her dress. "And this?" she asked, pointing at the next parchment. "Am I reading this correctly?"

Draco didn't try to hide his grin any long. "Oh, didn't I mention that? Her father shares a Quidditch box with the fellow in charge of Ministry-controlled assets. Seems there's been some talk about this one property out in Wiltshire. Too far away from London, too drafty. Various things. The Ministry doesn't really want it on the books any longer."

Lucius cleared his throat and coughed, desperately fighting off a squeak of surprise. "The Manor."

"Yeah, apparently there's some sort of problem with some very territorial birds? Not worth it to them." Draco laughed and leaned back in his chair. "The Manor, Dad. Returned to us. Vaults filled, and more than they were before. A lot more."

Narcissa pushed her tea cup aside and propped her elbows on the table, her face buried in her hands. "Everything. Everything returned to us. Our fortune, our home."

"And all you have to do is approve my marriage," Draco said. "She's not the woman you would have wanted for me, but I think I didn't do too bad a job in the picking. What do you think of her now?"

Lucius took Narcissa's hand and met her eyes. They stared at each other for several long moments, then Lucius turned to Draco. "We'll need a contract, of course."

At Draco's nod, Narcissa let out a relieved laugh. "Well, then. I believe congratulations are in order. Lucius?"

Lucius nodded and found a smile. "Congratulations, son. I find this resolution ... tolerable."

Without changing expressions, Narcissa kicked him under the table.


End file.
